More details revealed in brawl, shooting involving two biker clubs in New Smyrna Beach
Patricio G. Balona Daytona Beach News-Journal March 10, 2025
A former Outlaw motorcycle gang member, now a part of the Mongols, was arrested Sunday as the suspect who fired a gun multiple times during a large brawl with a rival motorcycle gang at a New Smyrna Beach gas station, police said.
Clinton Neal Walker, 41, of Bradenton, was charged with inciting a riot, discharging a firearm in public, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Walker was out of the Volusia County Branch Jail Monday on $75,000 bail.
According to New Smyrna Beach police, the gunfire erupted during a brawl where punches were thrown in a crowd of 25 people or more at 11:45 a.m. Sunday at the RaceTrac gas station at 3000 State Road 44.
Walker was part of a group of Mongols who confronted a group of Warlocks who were already gathered in the parking lot of the gas station, police said.
A Mongols Motorcycle Club is located on Cow Creek Road in Edgewater, police said.
Police said it was not immediately clear what sparked the confrontation.
Walker was driving a Chevy Silverado, which was stopped at 726 U.S. 1 in Oak Hill shortly after the brawl and shooting. He was arrested and his vehicle was towed.
Warlocks motorcycle gang members injured
After the gunplay and brawl was over at the gas station, a Warlocks motorcycle gang member, Marvin Granick, 55, of Deltona, was found with a bullet graze to the side of the head, while another Warlocks member, Thomas McDaniel, 64, of Louisa, Virginia, was struck in the back of the head with nunchucks, police said.
McDaniel told police that when he arrived at the gas station, a few Mongols were at the pump and they acknowledged each other. Fifteen minutes later, as McDaniel exited the convenience store, he saw a large number of Mongols arriving at the gas station and “they came quickly and with purpose.” The Mongols rushed towards the Warlocks and shouting was heard, McDaniel said to police, according to the report.
After the incident, Anthony Trimboli, of the Mongols gang, arrived at Halifax Health Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the stomach. Trimboli, 35, of Naples, would only tell police that he was somewhere in Edgewater alone, practicing cross-drawing when the gun discharged hitting him in the abdomen, according to an arrest report.
In the melee, a vehicle belonging to James Reynolds, 62, of New Smyrna Beach, was hit by bullets. He declined to press charges, police said.
New Smyrna Beach police were assisted by Daytona Beach, Edgewater and Port Orange police as well as the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in handling the incident.
Beatdown and gunfire
Witnesses provided police with statements and video recording of the brawl.
Police said the videos showed a group of Mongols beating a person on the ground and then 12 to 15 shots were heard dispersing the large crowd as people sought cover behind bushes. In the video police also saw a bald man, later identified as Walker, brandishing and firing a gun, scattering the crowd, the report details.
Another witness also described a shooter that matched Walker, police said.
When Walker, who had Mongol tattoos on his neck, was arrested he refused to talk to police and said he would not make a statement without his lawyer present, the arrest report states.
Former firefighter, marine, and Outlaw gang member
Sources indicate that Walker was fired in 2018 from the Hillsborough Fire Service after he was investigated for an Outlaw gang bar fight in Key West where two employees were injured.
According to a report by the Tampa Bay Times, an internal affairs investigation determined Walker had “unwavering loyalty” to the Outlaws motorcycle gang.
The report said that Walker was recruited by his fire captain, James Costa, who was the president of the Outlaws motorcycle gang chapter in St. Petersburg.
Costa was shot while riding on Highway 41 in July 2017. Media reports show that Walker was home but after getting a call, dressed in his uniform and helped get Costa to the hospital, and took his Outlaws vest with the gang’s insignia, evidence he refused to turn over to investigators, news reports show.
Walker denied the allegations.
In the investigation that led to his firing from the Hillsborough Fire Service in 2018, Walker told investigators that he resigned from the Outlaws in October 2016.
In its report, the Tampa Bay Times said Walker was a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps.
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